Changing
by Lioness's Heart
Summary: Sequel to Breathing. The epic duel between Darth Caedus and Anakin Solo has begun. As it unfolds, is there a chance for Caedus to be redeemed, or will Anakin fail and leave the galaxy to the tyranny of the Sith, and his friends to a fate worse than death?


**Disclaimer: If it was mine, I doubt I would be here on FanFiction with it...  
A/N: Finally, after over eight months since Breathing, the third and final installment of my oneshot trilogy! I have to say, it ends very differently than Invincible, which I wasn't all that pleased with. So many openings for so many things - Anakin's return being foremost - and nothing like that happening. Anyway, enjoy...and hit the button at the bottom and review, please!!  


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**The room was still and quiet. No one moved, no one dared to breathe for a few seconds. In the center of the room, a dark-haired young man stood, his companions behind him, and a former Sith apprentice clinging to his chest.

In the shadows, the Sith Lord watched them, his yellow gaze as heated as the flames of Mustafar. The man who was once Jacen Solo glared at the younger man who was across from him. Anakin Solo had been dead for thirteen years, yet here he was, standing in the middle of Darth Caedus' training room.

Years before, the two of them could have stood in a similar room and fought a practice duel over their respective views of the Force. Now, one stood there in defense of the galaxy, the other because he had become obsessed with ultimate power.

Caedus smiled darkly. There was nothing that could stop him. He had defeated Jaina. There was no way a Jedi-boy who had been dead for nearly a decade and a half could defeat him. His eyes darted to the Jedi Master and the Jedi Knight behind Anakin and Tahiri. They were on guard, but they would not interfere. This was between Caedus and Anakin.

The Sith Lord ignited his scarlet blade. Anakin, in turn, brought his borrowed lightsaber up, and with a _snap-hiss_, ignited his own blade. The brilliant saber lit the room with a soft silver-blue light. Anakin shifted, pulling his arm away from Tahiri. She backed up to where Corran and Zekk were, her eyes as wide as saucers.

For a moment, neither combatant moved, watching the other with baited breath. Then they both moved forward at the same time. Their lightsabers met with a clash and hiss. Caedus snarled and batted Anakin's blade away, only to be met by the same defense again. Anakin pulled away and sidestepped a slash.

He surged back in, pushing the duel towards the wall. Their blades met over and over again in a symphony of motion, sometimes faster than a blur. Anakin ducked under the scarlet blade, narrowly avoiding it, and drew his blade up under the Sith Lord's guard. Caedus parried it, pushing his blade down towards the younger man.

Then, Anakin caught his foot around Caedus' ankle, dumping him on the floor. Before he could pin him down, Caedus rolled and was back on his feet. "I told you, boy, you will never win!" Anakin shifted into a different stance, ready to defend and ignored the comment.

Seconds later, Anakin was forced to duck under the blood-red blade that came hurtling at his head. The blade cut into the wall and darkness enveloped all of them. But for the blades in the room, and the sparking of the cut wires, the room was as black as a starless night.

Red and blue blades clashed once more as Caedus began another offensive. Anakin blocked each cut surprisingly easily. Some time passed in the duel before the light returned. Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin could see Zekk by the char mark on the wall.

Turning his undivided attention back to the duel, he just barely managed to dance out of the way of another onslaught of attacks. If he kept this up, just barely seeming to be able to keep up with Caedus, he could lull the Sith Lord into a false sense of security. Then he could defeat him. Anakin had no intent to kill the man who had once been his brother if he could avoid it. Redemption was his first priority.

Anakin had learned much in the time he had spent in the Netherworld of the Force, including many things from the great Jedi Masters of the past. This included another technique that he held back. He never wanted to have to use it, but he would if he absolutely had to. A Jedi or Sith without the Force was still a Jedi or Sith, but they would have no power, they wouldn't be able to use it for the wrong reasons, in the wrong ways.

Anakin ducked again as Caedus brought his scarlet blade down. Anakin caught the next attack on his pale blue blade, and started to initiate the attack a little more.

Fire and ice glinted at fantastic speeds as both Anakin and Caedus let lose all restraint. Their lightsabers were blurs of color that amazed their three spectators by the beauty, speed, and lethalness of the fight.

As the battle raged on and on, both Anakin and Caedus started to tire. Finally, they broke away, both panting hard. Anakin wiped sweat from his forehead before returning to a strong stance. There was a moment of standstill before both surged forward and they clashed once more. In a sudden fluid motion, Anakin whirled, kicking the lightsaber from his opponent's hand. The carmine-colored blade instantly extinguished, the platinum hilt clattering across the floor to rest at the feet of the Sith Lord's former apprentice.

Tahiri looked down at it, then reached down and picked it up, looking at it as if contemplating the weapon. Everyone stared at her for a moment, which gave Anakin the opportunity to knock Caedus onto his back and place the glowing lightsaber blade at the Sith's throat. Anakin's ice blue eyes met his brother's now sulfurous glare.

"Why, Jacen?" Anakin asked softly. "What were you thinking?"

"I'm making the galaxy better," Caedus snarled in response. Anakin frowned.

"No, you're not. You've murdered one of your friends, and our aunt. You've chased Mom and Dad across the galaxy in an attempt to kill them as well. That alone is something Jacen Solo would never do, but then again, you're not really Jacen anymore are you?" Anakin asked. Caedus just stared at him, saffron gaze showing fury and just a little shock. "The Jacen I knew never would have done this. The Jacen I knew was a hero," Anakin said, his eyes becoming glacier-frost cold. Beneath the bluish blade, Caedus let out a bitter laugh.

"The Jacen you knew was weak, not like I am. I've got the power to change things, to make everything better, like the Jedi never could!" Caedus snapped, trying to worm his way out from beneath Anakin's lightsaber. Anakin stared at him, shaking his head.

"Power isn't the Jedi way, Jace. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is why the Jedi aren't the leaders, why we let the politicians do as they will and act as the Keepers of the Peace. We help people, not destroy them, Jacen. I'm going to give you a choice here and now. Give up your power or I will take it from you," Anakin said, surprisingly calm.

"Never," Caedus spat. Anakin's face became sad. With a sigh, his pale cerulean gaze met the once brandy-brown eyes. Anakin's expression hardened.

"Then you will face the consequences of your actions." As Anakin reached out with the Force, pushing it against the Force-presence of the man he had once called brother, Caedus realized what he was doing.

Anakin hated to do what he was about to do, but he knew he had to. If he didn't, then the galaxy would never be free of the cruelty that Caedus had overtaken it with. With a deep loathing, he let barbs of the Force hook into the presence surrounding Caedus.

A sudden wrenching shuddered through the Force for every Jedi in the galaxy. An anguished scream of pain and loss echoed within the building, turning every head that heard it. No one dared move, no one dared to breath. Seconds ticked by, and everything relaxed again.

Before the Jedi, a man lay, no lightsaber at his throat. A presence in the Force had changed. The once mighty and corrupt ruler was now powerless. He existed still, but his power was gone. Jacen Solo was no Jedi any longer. Darth Caedus was gone, wiped away, for no man could be Sith or Jedi without the Force. Jacen Solo did not have the Force as his ally anymore. Jacen Solo was free.

Bound in a cage wrought by years of misled thoughts and a choice he had long forgotten, the Jacen Solo of old had existed, but he was trapped. Caedus, the darkness in him, had slowly come to power, and slowly bound him in his mind. Nothing had stopped him, and the power of the Sith had won. Now freedom entered him for the first time in many years. Finally, things had changed. Finally, things were right again. Jacen Solo was enveloped by blackness, but not of the kind that had had been bound by.

Anakin stood with his back to his brother, watching Tahiri, Corran, and Zekk. Already, they could see a blurring to him. They could feel his presence fading.

"I can't stay," he said softly. Tears formed in the eyes of each of his companions. Tahiri threw her arms around his neck, her whole body shaking.

"Don't go, Anakin. I need you. Look what has happened to me without you," she whispered in his ear. Anakin pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"You don't have to worry about that, Tahiri. I will never truly leave you. I am always here," he said. "I'll never leave you as long as you remember me. Don't mourn, just remember, and move on. I love you, but now is not my time. My time is long past." Anakin leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, smiling very slightly when he met her eyes again. "My time ended at Myrkr, this is only borrowed time for me to set the galaxy right. Take care, Tahiri," he whispered the last part in her ear. He placed a soft kiss on her lips before backing up, a blue glow surrounding him. Bluish mist began to float in the air of the room. Carefully, Anakin handed the hilt of his borrowed lightsaber to Tahiri before his physical being dimmed. His eyes never left hers.

"_May the Force be with you…" _a voice echoed throughout the room. Then they were alone.

Anakin had come back and saved them, he had beaten Darth Caedus, and he had brought Tahiri back from the unnatural grief that had plagued her since after the Killik Crisis. He had changed the course of their futures. He had made sure that they weren't condemned because of what they were and ended a tyranny. History wouldn't remember him as more than the young man who had sacrificed himself in the name of his cause, when he had done so much more.

But Tahiri would remember. She would always remember him, her blue-eyed angel, the one who had saved her life countless times. Nothing would ever make her forget again. Now she could finally be at peace with losing him. Now she didn't have to forget…


End file.
